Delayed Arrival
by Kirby Oak
Summary: The story of a young man who gets reunited with his best friend. However, he may have arrived a few decades too late. With everything changed, will their relationship be the same?


A/N: Hello, ! I dunno how many of you will see this, but I appreciate all the people who do read it, especially the ones that review. As forewarning, this isn't my best writing ever, however it is the only story I've ever finished. It was written as a gift to a friend of mine, Fragmented Disillusionment, whose depiction of the pokemon universe and mew inspired much of this story. The character featured in the story, Kari, was created by and belongs to him. We thought others might find some enjoyment with it, but I apologize for anything that doesn't make sense because of such a targeted original audience.

* * *

Delayed Arrival

* * *

"But, he can't be gone!" the youth protested, visibly upset despite his attempts to hide it. At 16, Kari was surprisingly good at keeping his emotions in check, despite how difficult his weak psychic abilities made that. Still, though, he had always had one weakness, and that was his best friend, Jamie. They had been friends since they were little more than toddlers, and the other boy knew more about Kari than anyone else. That was why the boy couldn't believe what his mother was telling him; couldn't believe that Jamie had really died. "Let me... talk to them, something! It c-can't really be true." The boy grabbed the phone off the nightstand, getting ready to dial the number he knew so well.

He was stopped by his mother, who sat down next to him, taking the phone from his shaking hands and putting an arm around him. "I... can't imagine how horrible this must be for you, but we shouldn't be bothering the Sanders' right now. They'll be grieving just as much as you are, more really. He was their son, after all."

Although she was only trying to gently stop him from doing something inappropriate, Kari couldn't help but glare a little. After all, it seemed to him that she was trying to downplay their friendship as not being as close. Kari knew he couldn't really blame her, though. After all, no one knew how close they really were, practically in their own little world together. "How... How did it happen?" The question was quiet, the boy holding back sobs as he asked it. He needed to know, as much as he didn't want to.

"Car accident," his mother said softly, glancing out the window. "A truck... hit the side of his car as he was driving... There wasn't much le- He... couldn't be revived. It's terrible, he was on his way home from that new school of his." A few months earlier, Jamie had had to leave suddenly when he was recruited for some special program run by the government. That had been hard enough for Kari, even though they had been able to keep in contact with emails, but now this...

Quite suddenly, everything started fading away. The furniture, the walls, even his mother all slowly disappeared until there was nothing but darkness. "Er... Wh-What?" Kari looked around, a little panicked about what had just happened. Where'd his mom go, and all his stuff? Noticing something out of the corner of his eye, he turned, only to catch it darting off back to the shadows. "Who... Who's there? What is that?" he asked the darkness, not expecting the response he got.

"Hello." The voice came from behind him, sounding like a little girl. Indeed, when Kari turned around, he had to look down to see who had greeted him. The girl standing there was about five or six years old, with amazingly vibrant pink hair which had been tied back into a ponytail. "You still think of... Jamie, huh? That's sweet..." She sighed a little before smiling widely, showing her teeth to the boy. "Anyways, I just wanted to say, good luck!" Before Kari even had a chance to respond, the girl skipped off back into the darkness.

* * *

Waking up, Kari groaned a little, the dream still fresh in his memory. It wasn't the first time he had dreamed about the day Jamie died, but that little girl at the end was quite out of the ordinary. He didn't have time to try and figure it out, though. Today was the big day for him, the day he'd finally get to see space. He had applied for the program as soon as he had been able to, and after years of training, it was finally time for the main event. He glanced at his clock to make sure he was still on time before going through his morning routine.

By the time he was showered and dressed, the dream was the furthest thing from his mind. He was much too worried about the launch to be thinking of much else. After all, he was going to be the first person in the world to pilot the new craft. Dubbed a jumpship due to the way it "jumped" between two points in space, it was going to be humanity's first venture to the stars. The first one that didn't take generations, anyways. Unfortunately, the way it worked made Kari as much a part of the ship as he was the operator. In order to jump between one point and another, it used the 25-year-old's own gift, albeit at an amplified level, to teleport the entire ship. That much, he was not looking forward to.

Luckily, he had an easy way to help himself relax. The launch site, and therefore his current residence, was located on the island of Mossdeep in the Hoenn region. The city had been at the center of space exploration for almost half a century. Since the disease that had spread across Kanto, Mossdeep's small gifted population had also grown considerably. Neither of these things were what Kari liked the most about the island however. What helped him feel better was a nice walk on the beach, watching the ocean and inhaling the sea air. He didn't have time to go swimming, unfortunately, but he thought back to the weekend before, when he had gone scuba diving with his brothers, to help calm his nerves. Kari was going to miss this place, but that was all the more motivation to come back safely.

As the young man approached the space center, he saw the orange tip of the booster rocket that would get his ship out of the atmosphere. He had seen hundreds of launches, both real and simulated, and knew the likelihood of failure was nil. After all, if there was even a point-zero-one percent chance of failure predicted, the whole launch had to be rescheduled. Still, Kari couldn't help but think about those four or five times that there was a failure that hadn't been predicted. Knowing that wasn't the best way to be thinking at this point, he tried not to think about it, instead thinking about what he'd see in space. Now that was something he couldn't wait for.

Inside the center, there was a flurry of activity as everyone made their last-minute preparations for the launch. For a moment, the man was overwhelmed by the emotions of everyone in the room, stunned on the spot until he managed to get his mental barriers into place. Just as he did, though, a girl about his age approached him. He recognized her immediately by her long black hair and vibrant green eyes. "Hey, Beth," he said to her, smiling lightly. Beth was a scientist, one of the people who had helped develop the jumpship. From what Kari had learned from her, she mostly made sure the teleportation process didn't cause any damage to space, though most of what she said tended to be over his head, so he couldn't be sure.

"Kari! You should be getting ready for the launch, not standing around being useless!" The girl was smiling, though, obviously more excited about the launch than actually upset with Kari. Before he could respond, she had grabbed his hand was pulling him through the crowd to the elevators. "Now, all the safety checks have been done already, but I'm sure you'll want to look for yourself. Deep space telemetry confirms that your path will be clear and..." But he had stopped listening at this point, the elevator doors having opened to reveal his a stunning view of his ship on the launchpad. Being the prototype of most advancements in the jumpship line, the USS Exacter-001D wasn't the prettiest ship ever made, but Kari had no doubt it would do its job.

The young man knew that job quite well. Once he had broken out of Earth's gravity, he was to make a small jump to the outer edge of the solar system. After a few days of taking measurements and writing reports, he'd jump back. Pretty simple stuff, or so he thought. When Beth took him to the mission briefing however, he soon found out that things were getting more complicated. Instead of simply making observations from their own system, he was going to jump all the way to the next closest star system, Alpha Centuari. While shocked, Kari could hardly complain at getting the chance to see another star so close, and hardly wasted any time between the meeting and launch.

Before he knew it, he was seated in the ship with his spacesuit on. The ship had it's own air, of course, but even on such an advanced ship there was no other way to reduce the effects of gravity. "Pre-launch check completed," he informed the command center as he made one last addition to his central display, taping on a picture of his parents and all his siblings. If things ever went badly with a mission, Kari knew that the picture would help him fight harder to return home safely. "Starting up the AI assistant," he added, flipping a couple switches on a side panel. "Alright, Dakota, what've you got for me?"

Appearing on the screen was a young boy, who's grey eyes reminded Kari of his own. Whether that was a coincidence or not wasn't something he had ever figured out. People told him that the AI was older than him, and so couldn't possibly have been based on him in any way. All the same, he always liked to think he had a special connection with the AI. Friends with an actual artificial intelligence; if only Jamie could see him now. "Hey, Kari. Everything looks good, no systems showing errors. I'll be monitoring everything to make sure it stays that way, but..." the boy on the screen looked down, almost embarrassed. "You'll be really far after the jump. I'm afraid I won't be able to go with you, so... you'll hafta make sure nothing goes wrong manually. I'm really sorry!"

Kari smiled at the screen reassuringly. "Don't worry, Dakota, you just keep doing what you can. I won't be gone too long, so don't worry about me." Finally done with all the preparation, they could get on with the actual launch, much to the young man's delight. As the final count-down started, Kari's eyes widened and he once again turned to the AI. "Oh, Dakota, I almost forgot! Activate personal file AK-08!"

_"...3...2...1...Liftoff! We hav- ~I like to dream, yes, right between my sound machine~On a cloud of sound I drift in the night~Anyplace it goes is right~Goes far, flies near, to the stars away from here~Well, you don't know what we can find~Why don't you come with me little girl~On a magic carpet ride~..."_ Of course, he'd probably get in trouble for that little stunt, but he knew they couldn't afford to lose him if they wanted to keep this program going. Besides, he'd still do his job, why not have a little fun.

After what seemed like hours of g-forces, the shift to no gravity was a welcome relief. The craft had long since shed it's booster rocket, with only the small shuttle now remaining. "I have achieved stable orbit," he reported. "Dakota, log current internal and external sensor data, then monitor for significant changes. Now then..." He grinned, undoing the web of safety restraints meant to keep him in his chair during launch and reentry. The thing he loved most about scuba diving was that feeling of weightlessness, and now he truly was. Rising out of his seat and pushing himself into the center of the ship, he couldn't help laughing like a little kid, doing twirls and somersaults and whatever else he could think of. He didn't go on like that for too long, though, knowing there would be plenty of time to do so once he got to his destination. "How're things holding up?" he asked the AI as he floated back to the controls.

"Everything seems fine," the AI answered, several readings and external views popping up on the screen. "Looks like it'll be a pretty smooth ride, not that you'll be able to tell." This was enough to take Kari's elation down a few notches, as he knew what Dakota was referring to. The actual process which the ship used to teleport across such a large distance was a dangerous one, fatal to any living matter. As such, the only way Kari could survive it was to be cryogenically frozen until the ship had arrived at its destination. It was not a pleasant sensation being so impossibly cold, feeling for a brief second like you were suffocating. It had been the absolute worst part of Kari's training, and he doubted the real thing would be any better to him.

Still, there wasn't any point in delaying when the only way to get out of doing it was aborting the mission. "Thanks, Dakota... Make sure you get the readings back to the space center." Sliding back into the chair momentarily, Kari worked the navigation controls, rechecking where he was going to end up. With that done, he began the automated systems that controlled the actual jump. "Well, I guess that's it. I'll see you when I get back, Dakota. And watch my vitals! If the cryo process malfunctions abort everything!" Of course, the AI knew well enough what it's job was, but Kari didn't want to end up arriving with half his body torn apart. After a wish of luck from the boy, Kari climbed inside the stasis pod, trying to distract himself as he was overcome with the cold by thoughts of what he'd see when he arrived.

* * *

"Hey, Jamie?" The voice was quiet, a little timid, the brunette boy speaking seeming almost surprised at his own words. He hadn't intended to say anything, but he was sure that he just had. Of course, laying in his bed and staring up at the ceiling, it'd almost be difficult to tell he was speaking to anyone other than himself. A form on the ground could easily dismiss such thoughts, however, when it moved a little and the face of another brown-haired boy of nine could be seen.

"Hm? What's wrong, Kari?" the boy in the sleeping bag replied, obviously wondering why the younger boy would've started speaking again awhile after they had agreed they'd go bed. Kari couldn't blame him for being concerned. After all, he usually had more trouble sleeping than the older boy, especially during sleepovers, so didn't usually keep himself up that much later with conversation. Jamie knew him well enough to probably guess that something pretty serious was on his mind. He wasn't as sure if the brown-eyed boy had already guessed what he was thinking, but in a way, he hoped not. Even if he was about to tell him, the knowledge he had already known would've been horrifying.

After a moment of internal debate as to whether or not to tell him, Kari finally stuttered, "I... I th-think there's... something wrong with me. I w-wasn't made right or... or something..." The little boy curled up tighter in his bed, worried about how this conversation would go. It had been something he often thought about, but until now had never shared. Jamie had been his best friend for years now, and he had already kept the secret long past what felt right. Best friends didn't keep secrets, no matter how embarrassing.

The dreadful silence ended when Jamie finally said, "What... What do you mean? You always looked right to me. You're even taller than me and everything!" Well, great, of course he didn't understand. Kari wasn't really surprised, but couldn't help letting out a frustrated groan all the same. One of the hardest things his eight-year-old mind had to tell, and he couldn't even leave anything unsaid without Jamie taking it the wrong way. Kari was about to tell him to just forget it when he spoke up again. "Er... That isn't what you meant? Then... what is it? How could you be... not put together right?"

Moving his head over the edge, Kari looked down at the other boy in the darkness and frowned lightly. He knew he could trust him, but... "It's... really weird, Jamie... I don't even get it completely... You know how I have all those books with the legendaries in them, all drawn powerfully and stuff? Well... it's not really those big dark ones that l like... Here." The boy slipped out of his bed, stepping around the other boy as he also started getting up. Making a motion telling him to stay seated, Kari continued to his bookshelf and pulled out a couple from the rows. Setting them down next to his friend, he flipped through the first until he found the page he was looking for. It was a reprinting of an old painting, one that depicted a creature sitting atop the remnant foot of some old stone pokemon statue. The creature itself was rather simple compared to some of the more ornately decorated ones in the rest of the book, with a slender pink body and long narrow tail. While it's forepaws were small, the hind paws were noticeably longer with dark rings around them. There were similarly colored markings along the snout that curved along the large eyes, a swirl near the shoulder that extended down the back, and a spiral that wrapped around the end of its tail. "Here," Kari said, showing the picture to Jamie, "that's the one I like. Mew."

The older boy took the book, looking at the picture for a moment, then back up. "I still don't know what your point is, Kari. I mean, sure, it's not as cool as some of the other pictures in here, like that one of Dialga..." He started to look through the book, no doubt searching for the picture he had just mentioned. Apparently he still didn't understand that this was about more than just favorite pokemon. Well, he supposed most people didn't think about these things, especially all the kids around his age. Jamie usually had similar thinking to him, though. Maybe he just needed a little more nudging.

"Jamie, we can look through that tomorrow. I'm trying to tell you something important." The boy, although glancing up more often, was obviously still distracted by the book, causing more than a little frustration in Kari. "Jaaaaammmmiieeee," Kari moaned. "I... I wanna be a girl!" Instantly the boy covered his mouth, looking down to hide his embarrassment. So much for nudging. That's what happened when he was so tired, though. Couldn't even control his own words. And who knew what Jamie thought of him now, as he was too scared to actually look at his reaction. He could guess it, though. No doubt Jamie thought he was weird, a freak, queer even, and wouldn't want to be his friend anymore.

What came next, though, was far from what Kari expected. "What does being a girl hafta do with liking mew?" Unexpected, but hardly surprising coming from Jamie. He never could focus on the point of a topic, always had to nitpick the details. To some degree, Kari was relieved he hadn't run out of the room or started laughing at him, but he was also all the more frustrated. After all, this was something he had never told anyone before.

Taking the book from Jamie quickly, Kari was holding back tears as he stared at the other boy. "Forget about mew, alright? I thought the fact I liked such a cute, not to mention pink, pokemon would be enough for you figure it out, but... It doesn't matter now. Just... Just say it already!" Kari looked down, doing his best not to cry. He didn't usually get worked up like that, especially not with Jamie, but he was so emotional from this whole ordeal, it was hard not to let it show.

"Kari, I... I'm sorry." The younger boy looked up in confusion, just in time to see his friend hug him. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but Kari didn't have the strength to push him away, and despite the awkwardness, it felt safe. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry. If you wanna be a girl, you can be."

The shock and the confusion quickly overtook Kari's negative emotions. "What? Don't... Don't apologize, Jamie... I'm not even sure what you're apologizing for." He hadn't done anything, of course, not that Kari could tell. Maybe ignored him a little, but... his apology hadn't sounded like it was for that. "It's not your fault I can't be a girl. I just... w-wasn't born... as one..." The tears were starting to come again, and he wasn't sure he could stop them this time.

"That's not the point..." the boy said softly. "I never noticed you were hiding it, when I should've. Now I get why you hung out with girls, and why you always seem to take it worse when people call our names girly... But you don't hafta hide it now!" The older boy broke the hug, much to Kari's disappointment, though he was too weak to object. "At least not around me, and once you become a girl, you won't have to hide it anywhere." Jamie smiled, Kari once again completely caught off guard.

"What do you... m-mean once I become a g-girl?" As far as Kari knew, there was no way for him to become a girl, and he would've been making plans to use it already if there had been. What did Jamie know that he didn't? "How will... th-that happen?"

The other boy just shrugged. "Well, I don't know _how_... or when, really. But I'm sure it'll happen. There's no point in thinking it won't."

"But... don't you think it's weird I even want to be?"

"Maybe a little, but we also pretend to be pokemon, and... those tears tell me you really care about this." Without realizing it, Kari had started crying, but with it pointed out, he gave up all restraint and started sobbing. "Hey... Don't..." Once again Jamie moved forward to comfort his friend, hugging him tightly. "Besides, if you became a girl... I'd be getting a girlfriend."

"H-Hey," Kari said between sniffs, not entirely appreciative of the joke, although it did help his mood a little.

Jamie laughed lightly, continuing, "But you'd be a great girlfriend, and I'd be the best boyfriend ever. I'd take you ice skating, and we could go to the beach, and I'd take you to the top of the hill the radio tower is on so we could watch the sunrise. Huh... I never really thought about it before, but... it'd be really great for you to be a girl."

Kari couldn't help but smile now. "Yeah... Yeah it would be... Thanks Jamie."

* * *

Cold, everything was so very cold. The only thing Kari felt was cold. But no, she could sense a warmth in her mind, a powerful being that was reassuring just in his presence. But then he was gone and Kari was left with only the cold again. Nothing felt right, all her senses were off, but the cold she was sure of. This wasn't how the practices had gone! Maybe something had malfunctioned, maybe he was half-frozen in his stasis pod. That'd be just about the absolute worst way to die. But, no, all her extremities were still working. At least, she thought they were. Some of the feelings she was getting didn't seem familiar, but none of them felt wrong really.

Suddenly, she felt something touch her, both physically and mentally. So confused and terrified, her mind was a chaotic mess, and she didn't even realize it when she started hearing sounds that they were words. She did open her eyes, though could barely see anything yet, and let out a small noise she didn't even recognize. Reaching out with her mind, she instinctively connected to the other being she felt. _W-where... so cold... where... how do..._ It was so hard to think!

And then the other mind answered back, making Kari that much more relieved she wasn't alone. _Shh... Don't worry... You're safe..._ She didn't much feel safe, but then she felt something large and, more importantly, warm rub against her. Since she was absolutely freezing cold, Kari couldn't help but press herself to this warmth.

Of course, having her body in contact with something like this made her all too aware that something wasn't quite right with her. She knew something must be wrong with her head if she was acting like such a scared kitten just because of some cold. Her senses had to be deceiving her too, because the thing she was rubbing against seemed larger than her and pink. Not to mention she kept feeling something that felt suspiciously like it was where a tail would go. _I... b-body is... too... d-different... mind... g-gone..._ she complained to the other mind. It was still difficult for her to communicate that way, since she was too cold to completely focus on it. She was doing better than he would've expected, though, especially right after a jump. Didn't the scientists say it would take her an hour or two to regain telepathic awareness?

When the other being spoke again, it was in the same reassuring tone. What it said, though, was somewhat disquieting. _Kari... Please relax... Your bodies different, but you're still you..._ Not only was it trying to tell her that he wasn't imagining all the weird things she felt about her body, but it somehow knew who he was. That was almost more concerning, that some strange alien being could somehow know anything about him.

Making another strange high-pitched sound in shock, Kari turned to the creature, trying to get a good look at it. It seemed familiar, but what it reminded her of seemed too impossible to be true. _W-who... how... you know my n-name..._ The ship pilot didn't know what to make of all this. Of course, nothing could prepare her for the shock she was about to receive next.

_I know you._ This alone would've freaked out Kari, but it only got worse. _Kari... I'm Jamie... your friend..._ The chord this particular comment struck was practically audible, and Kari's eyes widened. Of all the things it could claim to be, an alien, a god, anything, this was the hardest for her to accept. After all, how it could it be possible? Jamie was dead, not a giant pink thing out in the middle of space that talked in thought.

_N-no... no..._ Kari protested weakly, making a sound that seemed very much like that of a hurt or frightened animal. She would've backed away too if the prospect of being separated from the source of warmth didn't scare her so much. _Not... n-not possible... Jamie... Jamie's dead... almost ten years now... c-car accident... you can't be... h-him..._ Despite the confusion in her mind, Kari was quite sure of that fact. She had just dreamed about it the night before, after all, even if the ending to that dream was strange.

She could feel a little emotion through the psychic link they were communicating with, though only to a limited degree. Still, there was a definite change now. She wasn't sure exactly what... Sadness? Regret? Definitely something negative like that, although the creature was trying to hide it. _I... didn't die, Kari... Not really. I just... had to go into hiding..._ It definitely sounded like the voice was sincere, but could she really trust it? There was still something missing, though Kari wasn't sure what.

Shaking her head as much as she could manage, Kari stared at the creature claiming to be his best friend. Every ounce of logic told her it couldn't be Jamie, she knew it. More than that, though, a part of him wanted it to not be, didn't want to believe that Jamie had just left him years ago. _Jamie wouldn't hide s-something from... m-me..._ Kari was getting too emotional to focus on that now and needed to look away from the pink creature, instead examining his ship. It was almost dizzying, none of the controls and signs and everything seeming proportioned correctly. _Why is my ship so big? Why can I..._ No, it wasn't that Kari's ship was big, she realized, standing up with a struggle. Of course, she wasn't aware of the manipulations that the larger creature was performing to gravity that even allowed her to do that much. The only thing that she noticed right now was that she wasn't what he used to be. _I... I'm something different. Why? Stasis doesn't make you s-small..._ At least, it wasn't supposed to...

_I wanted to tell you, really!_ the creature protested, seeming to ignore Kari's question in favor of continuing to persuade her she was Jamie. The young pilot had to admit, she was sounding more and more like the boy he once knew. _But... They said I wasn't old enough to make that choice..._ Yup, always finding some excuse, even from mysterious "They"s. Something had either really done its homework, or... _And you're small,_ the creature continued, finally coming back to the question, _because..._ At this point, Kari felt something small, moist and warm move a short distance on the back of her head. The thing had licked her! Strangely, though, it hadn't felt gross. In fact, it was quite relaxing, and helped calm her a bit, which was something she definitely needed with what it said next. _you became the same thing I did, a mew._

Kari shot her head around to look at the speaker, glaring a little at the creature. Now that she was reminded, it did look a lot like a mew, but... "But... m-mew aren't real... we... this..." she trailed off toward the end of her protest, getting distracted. In her shock, she hadn't used telepathy, but instead spoke out loud. Instead of coming out normally, it had come out as a high-pitched series of mewing noises. This, of course, caused her to look down at herself, seeing the same pink fur and long tail. "I'm not drugged, am I?" she asked almost hopefully. She wasn't sure what could've done it, but that didn't matter so much to her at the moment.

The larger mew smiled weakly as she watched Kari's realization and then rationalization. "No, you're not..." she answered slowly, speaking out loud now that Kari was. It was strange how she sounded like she was only speaking in that same pokemonic way of repeating her species' name, but was still perfectly understandable to Kari. It was like their class trip to the Embassy, where they got to hear foreign diplomats give speeches. They had worn headphones which let them listen to the translators, but that only went over one ear, which meant they could still hear the speaker's native language. This time, there was no delay in the translation, and obviously no headphones. "It's really real..." the mew continued, "I mean..." It seemed like she was thinking, looking around at things Kari hadn't been paying attention to or just hadn't been able to see. "look," she finally said, moving a little out of the way and pointing toward the back of the ship.

Kari looked where she pointed, eyes widening a little. It couldn't be, she thought, moving forward a few steps to get a better view. There wasn't even a thought about the way she had instinctively walked on all-fours, her mind much too consumed by thoughts and emotions stemming from what was in front of her. Instead of the rear compartments and auxiliary readouts she would've expected, the ship ended suddenly, jagged metal giving the only indication that there was supposed to be something between the ship's occupants and the unforgiving vacuum of space. "B-but... that's empty space... mew still need air, d-don't... how... how..." This was hardly evidence that she wasn't being drugged, some rational part of her mind told her, but rational wasn't really how she felt right now. If she could breathe in space, then what else was possible? She quickly turned around, rushing over to the other mew. "Y-you really are Jamie!" she shouted, pressing herself into the larger creature's fur and giving another of those little high pitched noises that she now realized was a rather inhuman whimper. She didn't care about that, though, not just now. "B-but... you... you were..." It was a struggle to speak through her emotion. "you left... n-never came back..."

She could feel the pangs of regret emanate off of Jamie, something that had never helped him feel better when he used to pick up on it in his voice. It shook her even more now, actually being able to feel it almost as strongly as the other mew did. "It took forever for me to grow up..." Jamie started explaining, making little sense to Kari. "By the time I could hold a human shape on my own, you were long gone..."

_G-gone?_ Kari repeated mentally, looking up in confusion. She was still a little emotional, and for the moment, speaking telepathically seemed far easier than hearing her own voice again. _What do ya' mean, gone? This mission was only a week long... you could've just... wait..._ The smaller mew trailed off, turning again to look back at the large hole, beginning to put together what its presence meant. _What happened to my ship?_

Jamie moved closer to her, continuing to watch her. "Apparently, you teleported into an asteroid," she reported matter-of-factly, though Kari could still feel the emotion in her mind. "You were reported missing and assumed dead at the time. Even I thought you were..." She looked down a little, the sadness Kari felt from her showing in her expression.

This revelation was no comfort to the recently transformed mew, however, and she let out another small whimper. People thought she was dead? She had to assume they looked for her, but they obviously hadn't found her. Which raised another question, her want for the answer the only thing that was keeping her calm for the moment. "And... h-how long... how long have I been out here? Why didn't you just unfreeze me? Why the... the fur..." She couldn't help glancing down at her pink body again, even as Jamie moved back into contact with her.

The older mew paused a moment before speaking, seeming nervous about answering. "Long enough that your body wouldn't have survived being revived... This was... the only way to keep you alive..." The question hadn't been explicitly answered, but it was enough for Kari to figure it out. After all, it took years, maybe decades or longer for the body to start getting seriously damaged by the cryogenic process.

Needless to say, this was hardly what Kari wanted to hear at the moment. "B-but... my... my family... my... I'm dead!" She whimpered a little before slumping to the ground and letting her emotion out in tears, crying for the first real time in a long time. "E-everything... everything's... g-gone... all of... e-everything..."

She felt the body of the larger creature wrap around her, the warmth providing a sort of safety that she gladly gave into. Soon enough, she was crying into Jamie's fur, sobbing over how much she had missed and how much would be changed. She felt the muzzle of the other mew on her side, rubbing comfortingly, and she just continued to cry. Normally, he never would've cried in front of someone else, but it was actually a sign of how safe she felt, with Jamie surrounding her small body, that she was willing to show her emotions so strongly like this. _You still have me..._ she heard her friend say directly into her mind and had to admit it was true. Jamie had obviously still changed though, and she couldn't help crying a little bit longer.

After another few minutes, Kari finally calmed down enough to speak. "Y-yeah... I... I should... b-be happy you... f-found me..." she said shakily, wiping her tears in Jamie's fur without even thinking about the normal social implications. "What have you been up to all this time, Jamie?" she asked, her curiosity outweighing her fear of the answer. "If I've been frozen long enough for my body to be damaged, you must be... a-ancient..." Of course, she didn't know that the damage to the ship had also damaged the stasis chamber, accelerating the damage to her body by a good number of decades. Although, in her current state, the knowledge may not have affected her perception of "ancient" much.

"Learning mostly..." Jamie answered quietly, her embarrassment holding her back more than her regret had. "First from the other mew just to grow up, then for the space fleet..." she continued, though Kari had little idea of what she was talking about. Space fleet? It sounded like something out of science fiction, especially when her ship was only one of the first capable of interstellar travel. To have a whole fleet already was amazing. "And I just got my first post on a scouting vessel... That's where we'll be living for the time being." This caused Kari's eyes to widen. Jamie was actually living on a spaceship, and she was going to be, too. Sure, he had experience with ships, but never one that you really lived on. That would certainly be interesting to see.

Once Kari had started putting the pieces together, though, she realized there was a slight problem in this plan. With a small whimper, she stuttered out, "B-but... I'm a... a... m-mew. If... if it took you a long time to learn how to be human again... and I don't know how that's possible anyways... h-how can I live in a...s-ship? Won't people notice?" If mew were still thought to be extinct, Kari could only imagine the sort of trouble it'd cause for someone to find a real one.

"Well... you'll probably have to stay in my quarters most of the time, yeah..." Jamie responded, almost seeming a little hesitant at admitting it. She continued, though, "There's at least one person who knows what I am, and besides... I can turn you human for an hour or two." Before Kari had a chance to respond to this, she felt Jamie's tongue on her back again. This time, however, it didn't stop after one lick, the tongue repeatedly sliding down her fur, moving a little every time.

At first, Kari's human side didn't want anything to do with such an invasion of her personal space, and she fidgeted uncomfortably, hoping for it to stop. As much as she didn't like the idea of being groomed like a small animal, though, she couldn't do anything about how nice it felt and soon stopped resisting, relaxing peacefully as the older mew continued her work. Without even fully realizing it, she began purring like a little kitten at the sensation. After a few moments of this, she managed to collect herself enough to speak. "I... d-don't suppose you could... make me one... b-before we head back?" she asked, not wanting to be a little mew the whole time. "If you even remember what I look like..." Jamie had always had a good memory, but Kari wasn't sure if it was that good.

_I remember,_ Jamie replied telepathically, unable to use her mouth at the moment, _but... the further away from how things are for you as a mew, the harder it is..._ Either the older mew could sense that Kari had no idea what that meant, or she just knew she hadn't been clear about it, because she continued, _It takes a lot more energy to make you a 20 year old male brunette than it does to make you a 5 year old girl with pink hair... and even 5 is a little old, but you'd be much too helpless if I made you into your truely representative form._

Kari whimpered at this, opening her eyes to look at her friend. Jamie was going to make her a little girl? That was not going to ease her embarrassment. And it didn't help to be reminded how pathetic she was right now. Although, she realized, Jamie said that was closer to representing her true form than being himself again. "B-but... how... why would I... oh... oh no..." That's when it clicked. She looked down at herself, fully realizing everything that had changed and once again breaking down into tears. "I'm... a... g-girl..." Sure, she had noticed before, but she hadn't really thought about it. Being in a completely alien body, one more change just hadn't phased her. Now, though, she couldn't stop thinking about how everyone would know, would figure out she was never quite normal.

Jamie stopped grooming her, apparently caught off guard by her emotional reaction. "Er... Oh yeah, there's that..." she said, as if she had only been reminded that changing gender was any sort of issue at all. "All mew are girls... except the Eldest, anyways." It didn't take Kari long to figure out what this meant in regards to Jamie, which helped cheer her up a little.

It didn't take much longer for her to stop crying, looking back at Jamie and giving a soft giggle through the last of her tears. "T-that means you've been a... g-girl for... a long time. You must be used to it by now."

The older mew gave her a strange look, obviously confused by her sudden emotional turnaround. "Pretty much yeah..." she replied slowly. "I dunno what's so funny about that. You'll have to."

Kari smiled weakly. Even like this, Jamie was so easy to lose. "Cuz'... it might seem like a long time to you, but... school, remember? People always used to make fun of us because of our names, only now... now we both really are girls..." In truth, that wasn't the only thing she was trying to get her to remember, but she hoped one memory would lead to another in Jamie's mind. For the moment, though, she was actually starting to feel better, and she stood up in preparation for being changed. "When you make me human, make me as old as you can," she told the older mew, although quickly remembered that Jamie had just said it was difficult to make her older, "b-but don't waste more energy than you have to spare..."

Her friend nodded in agreement to her request, adding a verbal, "Alright." Instead of changing her immediately, though, she spoke again. "I used to be able to make myself a boy, but... I haven't done that since my first year at the academy." The younger mew wasn't sure if she was saying that to defend herself or to make Kari feel better about being a girl.

Either way, it didn't make much of a difference. She certainly wasn't judging Jamie, and she had resigned herself to being a girl at this point. "Well... if I'm gonna have to be a girl, no sense wasting energy. I'll just have to... g-get used to it." Of course, she didn't want to admit how easy it might be for her to get used to being a girl, and she looked down in embarrassment. Luckily, that gave her an idea for a change of subject. "These limbs are... r-really small," she commented as she looked at her thin arms and legs. "I'm amazed I can even hold myself up."

"I'm keeping gravity off you," Jamie explained simply, once again treating it like it was something completely normal, as if she had just explained why rain was wet. "Trust me..." she continued, voice sounding a little hurt, though Kari knew it wasn't from any sort of current physical pain, "you don't wanna feel what it's like to experience gravity as a mew..." Unfortunately, she didn't go into anymore detail than she had before. "Whenever you're ready to leave, though, I can change us."

At the moment, though, Kari wasn't as concerned anymore about becoming human, her confusion and curiosity once again taking precedent. "Wait... you're keeping gravity away? How... how can a species exist that can't fight gravity by itself? How could that evolve?"

Jamie seemed a little put off by the question but had an answer fairly quickly. "Well, technically, I am fighting gravity, just... not with my body..." It certainly wasn't much of an answer, though.

As it was, Kari had done a lot of reading with regards to mew, both theories and legends. This made it a little easier to interpret Jamie's vagueness. "So... mew really are psychic?" Well, that made as much sense as anything, although she frowned, thinking about something else. "But... you weren't a psychic... neither of us were ever good with that stuff..." Kari had, of course, learned how to use certain aspects of her gift, but most of the time she had only practiced teleporting, and that was with technological support.

"You'll get better," the other mew said to her, smiling encouragingly. "It's much more instinctual for mew, although still pretty difficult. Plus... there's not much to do but learn how to use it... and you have as much time as you need..." Kari thought about this for a moment, trying to work out quite what that meant for her. So she'd have all the time in the universe to learn how to not be crushed by gravity? Great.

With a sigh, Kari walked a little around the ship. This would probably be the last time she saw it and it had meant something to him. Not as much as his family, though, and she soon found herself looking way up at the picture he had taped to the console. It was a picture of his family right before he had left to work in Mossdeep, his parents and all of his siblings, as well as him. How he was before, at any rate. She couldn't help but wonder if any of them were still alive. Even if they were, would she ever be able to see them and have them really believe she was their oldest son, who was supposed to be dead for all this time? It took everything to keep from breaking down and crying again. Instead, she just turned back to Jamie and said shakily, "I t-think I'm ready. C-can I... t-take my picture?"

"Of course, Kari," Jamie responded. "I'd let you take the whole ship if we had a place to put it."

The younger mew smiled weakly at what she could only assume was Jamie making a joke. She then took a few steps closer to Jamie, getting ready for the transformation. "Just... don't make me... too... g-girly..."

The older mew made a gesture almost like shrugging. "Eh, there's only so much I can do when I have to include clothes in the transformation. You don't mind having to wear a dress, right?" She grinned, obviously teasing her a little.

Kari didn't much appreciate it, though, reflexively saying, "D-don't say what I used to be." Then, with a whimper, she did answer, "I... I... Could be more comfortable, to be honest..."

"More comfortable than a dress?" Jamie continued, looking like she was thinking the idea over. "I dunno about that... I personally preferred skirts, but dresses worked pretty well too. Plus they're a heck of a lot easier to create from thin air. Just a big thing of cloth and some straps, with plenty of margin for error with the sizing."

Starting to get frustrated by how the conversation was going, Kari frowned. "Fine," she said flatly. "It's not like I'd understand how that works... I must have a lot to learn..." she sighed a little, thinking about how Jamie kept talking over her head. Couldn't Jamie see she was just making her feel worse? "Let's get this over with."

Jamie gave her as reassuring a smile as she could. "Just... relax and don't worry about it so much..." That was easy for her to say, but Kari still did her best to calm down a little, closing her eyes. Soon enough, she felt her body tingling...

* * *

Kari wiped the sweat from his forehead, taking another sip from his water bottle. He wore blue-tinted sunglasses, but even those didn't feel like enough under the cloudless sky. The young man absolutely hated the sun, and yet here he was, irony of ironies, in the sunniest place in Nippan. Of course, he knew it wasn't just coincidence. The space program was in Mossdeep because of that very weather, since the clear skies made it ideal for launching rockets. All the same, the ocean views hardly seemed worth the oppressive sun. It wasn't as if he could just quit the program because of a little weather not agreeing with him. Besides, if he quit now, all the work he had just done to move his things into his new home would've been worthless.

He was just about to head back inside with the last of his things when he noticed someone walking along the road. Normally, he probably wouldn't have paid them much mind, but what caught his attention was the unusual hair color of the woman. At first, he thought maybe his sunglasses were just distorting the colors strangely, but even when he lifted them, there was no denying her hair wasn't a natural color. Sure, people had strange colored hair for a variety of reasons these days, but it was still a bit odd for Kari to actually see someone with pink hair. Which wasn't to say it didn't look nice, but it was certainly surprising, especially on a woman who looked like she was in her thirties.

While it was her hair that caught his eye, it wasn't really the thing that kept his attention on her. Not that he kept staring at her, he wasn't rude, but he did stay outside. Kari had always had a sort of weakness toward babies, although not in the negative way that most people unfortunately associated with it. This woman was indeed pushing a stroller and with a little luck, he might be able to see the child. As the woman got closer, he gave a friendly wave, glancing toward the stroller in what he hoped looked like an innocent way. The child was wearing a light blue dress with a matching ribbon and looked a great deal like her mother. She had the same bright blue eyes, and suprisingly, hair just as pink, albeit thinner. The baby was looking right at him, grinning for some reason Kari couldn't discern. Then the woman stopped walking, and Kari's heart skipped a beat, his eyes darting back to her. "Hello there, Ma'am," he said as politely as he could. "I see you're taking advantage of the nice weather to have a walk with your daughter."

The woman smiled, taking a load off of Kari's mind. At least she didn't think he was something he wasn't. "Well, it's always nice here, but yes, we've been enjoying it." The woman glanced behind Kari, where the last box he needed to take in was sitting. "Did you just move here?"

The young man nodded, glancing back at the box as well. "Yeah, came all the way from Johto. The flight over the ocean was amazing." Kari loved flying almost as much as he did the sea. Even after growing up, neither had lost their charm for him. Looking back at the woman, he asked, "So you're from the neighborhood?"

She shook her head. "No no. We're actually on a vacation of sorts, visiting an old friend of mine." The woman looked down into the stroller, frowning a little. "What's the matter sweetheart?" Kari looked down to the stroller as well. Inside, the girl had gotten restless and was squirming in her restraints. She looked up at her mother once, whining something in baby talk that probably equated to "I want to get out" or something of the sort. When the kid looked at Kari, though, she stopped, smiled, and then waved at him. It was a little strange, but absolutely adorable to Kari.

He couldn't help but laugh a little at her antics. "Your daughter is very cute," he told the woman, hoping it wouldn't sound too weird to say. It seemed to cause the girl to stick her tongue out at him, though that was more likely just coincidence.

The mother didn't seem to mind the comment, giving a smile and a polite, "Thank you." When nothing seemed to happen for a few seconds, the child once again starting getting restless. In addition to squirming, she started reaching her hands out toward Kari, shouting "up" over and over. "I think she wants you to hold her," the woman told him.

Kari looked up at her, taken aback by this assessment. "M-Me? But..." He couldn't understand why the girl would want to be picked up by him, a perfect stranger, and not her mother. It was completely against what he knew to be normal. Of course, this was also the girl that seemed to have natural pink hair, but there was still something strange about all this. Before he could try to work anymore out, though, he heard it. It was quiet at first, and high-pitched, but it quickly grew. The girl was starting to cry. "H-Hey, don't do that..." he said to her softly, reacting without thinking much about it. He moved closer, unbuckling her from the stroller and lifting her out of it gently. She was a little heavy, but he wasn't as skinny as he used to be. "Don't worry," he said to her, bouncing her up and down a little. "It's alright, I've got you now."

Sure enough, the girl began to calm down and was soon smiling happily, giggling a little as she bounced. "You seem to be quite the natural with her," the mother said to him as her daughter put her arms around his neck. "It's too bad we _don't_ live around here. You'd be a pretty good babysitter." The girl looked back at her mother for a moment, looking excited, though quickly returned to Kari, having lost the excitement. A strange act from a strange girl, though Kari supposed she was only a year old or so, so he couldn't entirely blame her. "But... we've taken up enough of your time, we really should be going now."

The little girl looked back again, sticking her tongue out and shouting, "No!" Kari also felt her cling a little tighter to him.

A little worried by this, the young man looked at the little girl. "Hey... Is there... something wrong with your mother?" He kept his voice low of course, and there was no indication that the woman heard him. The girl shook her head, seeming to understand him. "So... You want to stay with her?" She nodded this time. "Then you're gonna hafta go back with her, alright? You can't stay with me. Now, I'm gonna put you back in your stroller, okay?" There was some hesitation before the girl nodded again, though didn't look very happy about it. Kari felt bad for her, but there wasn't really much he could do. He placed her back gently into the stroller, making sure she was secure. "Goodbye then," he said to her, smiling a little, then looking back at her mother. "Sorry about that."

"That's quite alright. Really, I should be apologizing to you. She just gets emotional sometimes about the strangest things. Sorry for taking up your time."

"It was my pleasure," Kari responded. "It's not often I get to talk with such an intelligent little girl. I hope you'll take care."

"We will. Goodbye." The little girl waved sadly, and Kari waved back. It was an unusual experience, but he wasn't going to complain. Returning to his box, he carried it inside, a wide smile on his face.

* * *

"How... How's that?" Jamie asked, panting a little. It must've been quite the effort to transform Kari into the six-year-old she looked to be. She couldn't quite see, but she had pink hair that just barely reached her ears. Other than that, though, she looked fairly normal, and had kept her grey eyes.

Kari couldn't help but giggle in her new form, letting the childish feelings manifest themselves without much restraint. Spinning, she watched as her simple dress flowed in a circle. This might not be so bad after all, she thought. Although, she couldn't say she was completely happy with how things had turned out. "A little underwar would've been nice..." she complained, her voice as childish as she looked. Yes, she mostly said it out of modesty, but she was also a little cold on the ship. It didn't stay the focus of her attention, though, as she looked down at the mew with a smile. "Heh. I'm teh' biggestest," she announced happily.

Jamie lifted off the ground, floating almost magically upward until she was eye level with the girl. She then promptly stuck her tongue out. "For now..." the mew answered playfully, her tail moving swishing around cutely. "But I need to transform back too. I'm not sure if the transport back to my ship leads right to my quarters or not, so I'll have to before we go back in case it doesn't."

Even though Jamie had been speaking seriously, Kari couldn't help reaching a hand out and petting the creature. It was one thing when she was a mew, where Jamie represented a large source of protection. To a little girl, she just seemed like an adorable little pink pokemon. That wasn't to say she hadn't been listening. "Is that wise? How old are you... Eighty?" Kari still wasn't entirely sure what ages were like in mew.

The mew pushed against her hand a little, purring lightly, much to Kari's amusement. She still answered, however, albeit telepathically. _Actually... age is based on knowledge, so... I'm only like 15..._ She sounded a little embarrassed, though Kari couldn't imagine why. _I actually have to seem older to be in the HSF, but... it's not like I'm _that _young..._ Definitely embarrassed about it for some reason.

This did make Kari wonder, though. "Age is..." the girl started to repeat slowly, turning the concept over in her head a couple times. Jamie's knowledge was obviously more than hers, but how much? "If you'd be fifteen... How old would I be?" She turned as she remembered her picture, grabbing it off the console before she forgot. Who knew if they'd be able to come back to get it again.

Jamie seemed to hesitate before answering, though Kari figured it was just because she was enjoying the petting. She realized her mistake once the mew started speaking again. _W-Well..._ she started nervously. _You'd be... barely a newborn..._

The emotion welled up inside Kari for a moment, causing her to give a little squeak and move her hand away from Jamie. Newborn? That's how little she knew? "N-no wonder it was so hard to make me this..." She couldn't even finish the sentence before she started crying once again. "o-old..." Of course, she didn't even want to think about how long it'd take to grow up.

"Hey, Kari..." Jamie started as comfortingly as she could, rubbing her cheek against the girl's worriedly. "Don't be like that... There's nothing wrong with being that young... I had to do it, and I had a lot of fun with Logan... most of the time." It wouldn't be Jamie if, even while trying to comfort her, she had to say something technically.

Kari was too caught up in her worry to really care about that, though. "But... But... I'm a baby!" she whined, tears still streaming. "I'll... have to... d-drink milk, and sleep in a crib, and..." The girl sniffed a little, rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry, Jamie. I'm gonna waste a lot of your time, aren't I?" She hoped Jamie wasn't too upset with her for not being smarter. It was something she always striven for, but now that it really mattered, it seemed that she hadn't worked hard enough.

The mew shook her head. "It's fine, Kari..." she tried to reassure her. "I knew what I was getting into when I had the Eldest make you a mew... It'll all be arranged so that I can focus on you more..." It wasn't entirely clear to Kari what that meant, but she nodded along reflexively. "I'll still have to do some things," Jamie continued, "but... I want to help you..." Kari felt the creature lick her cheek, and she couldn't help but smile.

"I... t-thanks, Jamie," she said to the mew, wiping her eyes again. She had managed to stop crying, at least for the moment. "You... I'm glad you got me out of there. Not that ... it doesn't feel like I was heading home only a few minutes ago, but..." Kari whined wordlessly at the thought of how far she was now. She surpressed the urge to cry again, looking at Jamie as she started speaking again, "Let's see that ship of yours... won't the crew get upset about a little girl on board that isn't supposed to be?" The last thing she wanted was to get in trouble, or worse, get Jamie in trouble.

"Ah, I'll think of something. It's not like they don't already think I'm weird," Jamie reassured her, though not entirely well, despite the mew's warm smile. "Speaking of going back, though..." Kari watched as the pokemon floated a few feet away from her and landed back onto the ground, standing up on her hind legs. After a moment, it looked like she was moving again, but the girl realized quick enough that it was more than just that. The mew's body was growing and changing proportions, fur receding into pale flesh, paws changing into hands and feet. In less then a minute or two, the mew was completely gone, replaced by a young woman in her early twenties. Unlike Kari, her hair was not entirely pink, having instead faded into a more natural-looking reddish brown. Well, all except for the bangs, which were the same soft pink color. She wore a simply-decorated dress, what Kari could only guess was a casual version of her normal uniform, a guess entirely based on the fact it bore rank insignia near the shoulder. Or, one was rank insignia. The other was three faded pink triangles, a symbol that didn't seem like the sort of thing a military-based operation would use. "Alright, now we're ready," Jamie told her, opening her eyes again.

Kari was still looking up at her, though, eyes wide after the transformation. "Woah... you're so big, Jamie!" Instinctively, she ran toward the older girl, wrapping her arms around the young woman's legs. She wasn't really thinking about the implications of this act; it just made her feel safer. "How can you make yourself so big, but me so... so... widdle?" Kari pouted at the unfairness of her being the only one stuck so young. As much as she tried to resist, her mind was being influenced by the instincts of a young human female.

She felt Jamie rub her hair a little, causing her to look up as the older girl explained. "Sorry, Kari. It's a lot harder to work with someone else's body. I would make you older if I could, really!" Her expression was definitely concerned, though Kari figured that was probably because Jamie thought she was about to cry. The older girl always had been one to apologize just to avoid dealing with people's emotions, or at least hers.

Still, the younger girl wasn't going to give in to her feelings, not when she was still trying to hold on to some small shred of dignity. "Well..." she started, still pouting a little. "I... I guess if it's this or a body that can't survive gravity, I... I'd prefer this..." Even if mew did have some way of repelling gravity, she sure didn't know how to do it. Jamie could have helped her, but she didn't want to make the older girl stay with her all the time. For right now, though, she couldn't resist holding onto her friend's hand with both of hers. After all, what they needed to do next seemed really scary. "I... I guess I'm ready... just... d-don't let them laugh at... m-me..." For that really was her biggest fear, that someone would know what she was, or at least make fun of her for how she looked or acted.

Jamie's grip was soft but secure, and most importantly warm. "I won't, don't worry..." She knew it was true, but that didn't really stop her from worrying as they stepped forward to be engulfed by the void of teleportation. Still, she felt safe with Jamie, even if she knew things would be hard going forward. At least she had her best friend back.

* * *

Hovering a couple feet off the ground, Kari had been at a fairly decent vantage point to watch the action. Not that she watched _too_ closely. Most people didn't with births, not unless they had to. She had still been there, though, to support Jamie. Kari wasn't all that sure the older mew really needed it, but Jamie always seemed to appreciate it. Besides, she had never seen a mew birth before. It turned out to not be that different from any other pokemon, or even humans, but the atmosphere definitely was. There was much more at stake. If the newborn wasn't able to control gravity well enough to keep from being crushed, then it was unlikely it would survive. She had been able to feel Jamie's worry, not only for that reason, but also one much less usual as far as mew births went.

Kari wasn't entirely clear on the details, but with the Eldest being the only male, he was supposed to be the only way a mew got pregnant. Something had happened, with Jamie being shy or something, and she refused to mate with Eldest. However, she had gotten a boyfriend of her own, something that Kari was more than surprised to learn. It had scared her a little, making her think that her best friend had changed into someone else entirely. She had gotten over that for the most part, although there were still times she missed the old Jamie. Owen, the boyfriend, was pretty nice, though, if a bit boring. Then again, he was the one who had gotten Jamie pregnant, so he couldn't be completely dull, although it usually burned Kari's cheeks to think about.

"You can come here, you know," Jamie said, bringing Kari out of her thoughts. She looked down at the older mew, curled around the form of the newborn. "I know you're curious about your new sister, you don't have to watch her from all the way up there." Jamie smiled up at her then nuzzled the smaller mew a little, gently waking her up.

"But she's so small!" Kari protested. "I might hurt her, or she might be scared of me and hurt herself, or who knows what." Despite her words, though, the mew couldn't help floating gently closer as the young one stirred. It was her size that made Kari worried, but it was also one of the more adorable aspects of the newborn. That and the way she'd look around, finally grasping the meaning to concepts that she had only known in theory. What colors really looked like, what soft fur felt like, what it was like to really taste the stars for yourself. The baby's thoughts had been completely open as she discovered all these things, and Kari had been completely fascinated to watch her do it.

Jamie gave her a light grin. "You were smaller," she reminded, causing Kari to whimper lightly. It was true that the newborn had gotten a slight advantage over her, being able to learn almost directly from Jamie's mind as her body grew inside her. Still, it was a small comfort compared to knowing that a newborn mew knew more than Kari had after a couple decades of being human. The older mew didn't say anymore on the topic, just turning to the small mew as she blinked the last of sleep from her eyes. "Morning, little one," Jamie said to her, giving her a lick. "There's someone here who wants to meet you." She turned to Kari, the baby's eyes following hers. "Lynn, this is your sister, Kari. Say hi."

The newborn yawned, just staring for a moment before a wide smile came to her face. _Sissy!_ the young mew shouted telepathically, quickly pushing away from Jamie and darting haphazardly toward Kari. Seeing the little mew flying toward her, Kari stopped quickly, not wanting to collide with her. Lynn had other ideas, though, flying straight into the older girl and snuggling against her happily. Startled by this, Kari could only think to rub back instinctively, as well as checking areas that she knew were most prone to getting hurt.

It had taken a moment for Jamie to realize what was going on, and by the time she had made to go after Lynn, the newborn was already safely clinging to her sister. Relieved, she smiled at the two of them. "Well, it looks I don't need to worry about you two getting along. It's like you already know each other."

Lynn looked at her mother. She had already moved so that she was essentially riding on Kari's back, and Kari felt her front paws propped on her head. Kari was about to speak, but the mental speech that the newborn instinctively used was more efficient. _Of course I know Sissy!_ she shouted with a little giggle. _She kept me company sometimes when you were sleeping, Mommy. We talked about what it was like you be in you and what it was like to be small outside you and all sorts of stuff._

"Well now, is that so?" Jamie asked, a hint of knowing in her voice. "I didn't know you two were doing that."

Kari glanced down guiltily, and she could sense Lynn's happiness fade as the little one thought it over. _Wait... If Mommy didn't know, then..._ The young mew whimpered, floating off of Kari and back toward her mother. _I'm sorry, Jamie! I... I would've told you! I thought you knew! You always seemed to know what I was thinking about! Really, I'm sorry! I'd... I'd understand if you didn't wanna take care of me no more. After letting me grow inside you... and I didn't even tell you that... that..._ Jamie must've been suppressing how much of the emotion was transmitted by the young mew, she must've been if no one had come in to investigate.

The older me just smiled lightly, gently pressing the newborn into her fur, rubbing against her comfortingly. "Don't worry, Lynn... It's alright, I'm not mad... Just relax. I'm glad that you and your sister got to know each other." Soon enough, the young mew had calmed down, floating against Jamie with a weak smile.

_Sissy's fun to talk to..._ Lynn said with a yawn, her eyes half closed. _Mommy, can... can I go back to sleep?_ She whimpered lightly. _I don't hafta, though!_

Jamie shook her head, nuzzling her a little more. "No no, you get your sleep, sweetie. It's been a long day for you." The smaller mew nodded slightly before closing her eyes and quickly finding her way back to sleep. Once Jamie had made sure she was settled, her gaze returned to Kari. "I'm really not mad, you know, at either of you." Her smile looked reassuring, but Kari couldn't help feeling a little guilty, still.

"I... would've asked you, but... you've been so worried lately," Kari defended, "I didn't want to bother you by asking you to facilitate the connection, so I just focused until I could talk to her myself." This sort of behavior wasn't anything new for her. Between her work on the station and Owen, Jamie always seemed so busy. It hadn't been quite as bad on the ship, when Jamie's workload had been lighter and she wasn't living in the same quarters as Owen. There was enough time for the older mew to teach her all sorts of things, like how to fly and the basics of transformation. Now, though, the young mew often had to figure out how to do things on her own. Her growth had suffered a little, but she never resented Jamie, understanding that she was busy. She just missed being able to spend more time with her. That was something else she'd never tell Jamie, though. The mew had enough to deal with without having to feel needlessly guilty over her. "I'm sorry I never got a chance to tell you, though." Kari finished, hanging her head a little.

The older mew just smiled at her. "Well, I'm proud of you." Jamie giggled when Kari looked up in surprise. "Not only for figuring out to do that, but that you cared enough to want to talk to her. It's reassuring to know she'll be in good hands when I have to go back to work."

Kari smiled lightly, nodding a little. Sure, keeping the little one company had felt perfectly natural, so she didn't see what the big deal was, but she still appreciated Jamie's words. She was a little worried by the thought of having to take care of Lynn all by herself, but at the same time a little excited. It'd been a long time since she had a little sister to take care of. That made her think, though, what would she do with the infant? There was only so much that she'd be able to teach it that Jamie couldn't. She'd have to find something that Jamie couldn't teach her. Soon enough, she realized she had just the thing. The last few months, she had been venturing outside of the station. She could do so with much greater ease than the human researchers, so she had found plenty of things they hadn't in the asteroid. Since the entire station had been built on top of the remains of a long ruined mew station, their were all sorts of neat places to explore. Maybe if she learned enough about them, she'd be able to entertain Lynn with them. "Well, I'll do my best," Kari said, suddenly filled with energy and barely able to contain her eagerness. "I should let you rest, though. I mean, you gave birth today! You must be tired..."

Jamie shook her head a little, seeming concerned. "That doesn't mean you have to leave, if you don't want. It's not like I'll be able to sleep entirely anyways, so you wouldn't be disturbing me." She started grooming Lynn gently, the young mew's fur having gotten a little messy from her brief flight.

"Nah, don't worry, you deserve to relax. I wanted to go exploring the ruins anyways." Kari was already starting to prepare the teleport when she glanced back at Jamie uncertainly. "That is... unless you wanted me to stay." For all her excitement, she almost hadn't considered that the older mew might've been asking her to keep her company without really asking.

"No, I'll be alright. Owen'll be home soon anyways. You have fun, and don't forget to be safe!" With a little nod, Kari entered the featureless void, her sights set on adventure once she reached the other side.

* * *

The glow was a little unsettling, as if Kari could feel how empty the crystalline formation was simply from the light it gave off. Still, it was here that she came so often to reflect, staring up at the heart of the great mew computer which sat underneath her home. It had once housed a great AI, or so Jamie said anyways, but it had died ages ago, before the human station had ever been built, and now all that was left was the raw information. This was where Jamie worked, in many ways her pride and joy. She had worked hard to get it's systems operational without a functioning AI, and was still in the process of developing a human interface for it. Kari always laughed at how protective she seemed of it, only letting people down here if they were supervised by her. That was one of the reasons why the younger mew liked to come down here to think, there was no one else around, and the design of the former mew complex muted much of the thoughts of the people above.

Even without people there, Kari was in her human form. Ever since she learned how to do it on her own, she liked to practice as much as possible. She was still new at it, though, so couldn't really change how she looked that much. This left her as a seven-year-old girl with bright pink hair, which she didn't mind too much since she was so used to it. It certainly saved her the trouble of making clothes, and she had worn one of her favorite dresses, light blue with a cute little crescent moon pattern.

"I thought I'd find you down here." Kari was hardly startled by the voice, as Jamie had taken no effort to conceal her arrival. The older mew was also human, though for the more practical reason of having just walked through a public area of the station. In truth, that was really an excuse. It was Jamie's fondness for being human so often that had led to her being pregnant with Lynn years prior, the first mew born to a human father. Her human form hadn't really changed much since Kari first became a mew. She still liked putting that streak of pink in her hair and still towered over her. "You know I don't think this is the safest place for you to be." The girl nodded, unconcerned. She had yet to get hurt or in trouble from being down here. "So, what're you up to?" Jamie asked, taking a seat next to her.

"Just thinkin'," Kari responded simply. After a few moments of silence, she turned to the young woman. "So, how'd it go with Owen?" Although Jamie had artifically been keeping her boyfriend looking the same age she was, he was starting to get on in years. As such, the decision was finally made for him to become a mew. It apparently wasn't as simple as it had been with Kari, though. She didn't entirely understand it, but she knew that Owen was going to be judged to determine if he deserved to be a mew.

Jamie sighed lightly, looking up at the crystal in front of them. "It's still going, really. I mean, Logan helped me explain it all to him, and then we took him to the island." The older girl seemed to smile for a moment, blushing, though it was hard to tell for sure in the dim light. "It's all up to him, now. If he passes the test, he's a mew. If he doesn't..." Jamie made little indication as to what she was feeling at that moment, but it wasn't hard for Kari to figure out.

Reaching over, the little girl hugged her elder. "I'm sure it'll work out," she encouraged, smiling as much as she could manage. "Owen is really really smart and knows all sortsa stuff. And he had you as a teacher for all the other stuff!" When she could, Jamie had included Owen in her lessons to Kari and Lynn. Part of the reason that they had delayed so long to make him a mew was so that he could be as old as possible when he became one. The young woman stroked Kari's hair appreciatively, though the girl could tell she should probably be the one to move things along. "So... what's Lynn up to?"

After a moment, Jamie answered, "Spending time with her grandmother. With everything Logan does these days, I think she's taking any excuse to not return to work right away." Jamie smiled again, reassuring Kari a little. Of course, she still knew that the other girl was worried, but at least she wasn't focusing on it. "But, you know..." Jamie started again, looking back to the computer. "I've been thinking too, about all this stuff with Owen..." Well, so much for her not focusing on it, but... no, this was different. Kari couldn't quite discern what Jamie was thinking, and the emotions she was reading didn't seem to line up. "The thought of losing him really scares me, and that reminded me... See, long ago, I had this friend. We did everything together, and couldn't bear to be apart. One day, though, I had to leave. I couldn't tell her where I was going, and ultimately had to lie to her so she wouldn't try to find me. I took her best friend away from her, but I thought that it would all be okay, because one day I'd be able to tell her where I was and invite her to come with me." Jamie looked down sadly, and Kari couldn't help but close her own eyes to keep from crying. She knew what this story was, but she couldn't bring herself to stop Jamie. Once she had regained her composure for the most part, the older girl glanced over at her weakly. "I didn't try hard enough, though. I ran out of time and lost her, seemingly forever. It took me awhile to get over it, and maybe some small part of me never did. Years later, though, many many many years later, I got her back. I was so happy that I took it for granted, and I never realized before that she never got her friend back."

Kari stared for a moment, eyes tearing up. She quickly shook her head violently, almost shouting in protest. "That... That's not true, Jamie! I got you back! Maybe you aren't the same, but it's still you!" The girl clung tightly to Jamie's arm, looking up at her. "Really, I'm happy! I have a great family and a life I never imagined before!" Why would Jamie think she wasn't happy? She hoped she hadn't ever said something that would make her think that.

Jamie looked down at her, smiling. "Just relax, Kari... I know you're happy, but... Are we happy with our relationship? We used to be best friends, more than that. We never said it, but you know that was more than just friendship."

"It's alright, really! You're a great mom, I don't mind if-" Kari cut off as the older girl gently touched a finger to her lips.

"There's one more part to the story. Long before I lost her or she lost me, I made my friend a promise." The younger girl started to realize that something about Jamie had changed, or, more accurately, was changing. She was getting smaller, something Kari felt better than saw, with her arms around Jamie's arm. "We were just little kids, maybe not entirely ordinary, but far from extraordinary." Kari realized that Jamie's chest had gotten flatter and... her hair was shorter? "Still, a promise is a promise, and it's about ti-" Jamie's voice cracked, and as she continued, it sounded higher, though not as much as Kari would've expected. "about time I kept this one." The little girl blinked once as Jamie's transformation settled, realizing with wide eyes what had happened. Jamie was around her height now, a little taller, obviously her age. Instead of a little girl, though, there sat an almost exact copy of the Jamie she had known all those years ago, a little boy.

Sure, the boy she remembered didn't have that same reddish tint to his hair, and definitely didn't have bright pink bangs. That didn't stop her from blushing fiercely, though. "J-Jamie? But... why are you..." She shook her head a little. "You don't have to do that for me! That promise doesn't matter, not after all this time. You really shouldn't have to change because of me. What about Owen? Your work?" Kari couldn't believe Jamie was actually doing this. Sure, a part of her was overjoyed at seeing her friend again, but she tried to subdue that feeling, thinking it selfish.

Jamie took her hand in his, smiling weakly at her protests. "Owen understands that the relationship between him and I is going to change anyways. I'm sure it'll probably be a shock when he sees me doing more stuff as a boy, but since he'll be a girl, he's probably gonna have bigger gender worries. As for the Fleet, I've already been granted retirement, pending the completion of my work here. I'll admit me might not be able to have a traditional relationship, but... we could definitely have lots of fun together." He smiled a bit wider, blushing a little. "And by that, I of course mean going ice skating, or visiting the beach together, or watching the sunset on top of a hill... I'll be the best boyfriend ever!"

The girl was struck speechless for a moment, overwhelmed with emotion. She soon started crying, wrapping her arms around the boy and head resting on his shoulder. "Jamie..." she whispered, barely calm enough to speak, but he returned the hug and stroked her hair, which helped her to relax. "We can't do... any of those things on the station, you know..." This prompted a giggle from Jamie, which in turn caused Kari to smile. He felt so different, but it was nice in its own way. Still, she was worried about being to selfish. "You... really don't have to do any of that, though..."

"No," the boy said softly, moving her so he could look her in the eyes. "I do have to. I really do. Do you know why?" The girl shook her head in response, looking a little nervous. "Because, Kari..." He held her close again.

"...I love you."


End file.
